University Lecturing and Diversity

It seems appropriate to combine my learning for these weeks as they are integrated and relevant.

What have I done? – Learn / Engage / Achieve / Practice

Week 3 – Learning New Module for University Lecture

Well I have been involved in all 4 with week 3 being the start of the academic year and my role as Module Leader for undergraduates studying Human Resource Development. This has engaged me with setting up my internal University systems, structuring the content and communication access. Preparing and delivering the first session to my enthusiastic 3rd year students was encouraging let’s hope it continues.

My key learning points are good organization is critical along with clear planning.

Remember …… If you fail to plan you plan to fail

Week 4 – Diversity

This is such an important topic and relevant to my work at the University as it is known for its multi cultural heritage and they do celebrate diversity.

What is diversity and why is it important?
The following definition is clear on what it is and why we should all find it important and apply it in any learning that we do as well as any connections face to face, phone, email, and social media.

Diversity Definition:
The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.

Therefore, this is an area which we should not be paying lip service to and should be part of who we are as individuals and represented in our companies and the ethics we communicate on our websites that should reflect and demonstrate your team values.

My professional body Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) have produced an excellent diversity calendar in conjunction with ‘Diversiton’ who’s strap line is .. ‘leading the world in diversity’.

Here is a copy for you to download, to maybe have as a screen saver to remind you about some of those key dates we should be aware of.
It is full of some inspirational quotes and one I will leave you with is :